Small Town Boy

Chapter 21

Somehow, I couldn't speak. My mouth frozen shut, not by the cold, but by fear. Reed's hand remained clamped on my shoulder as he marched through the crowd. We were heading away from where most people were, through the maze of rooms. He started pushing on doors, trying to work out whether they were locked, and if they weren't whether they were empty. My heart raced. My skin prickled with goosebumps. Frantically, I looked around trying to find someone who would realize what was going on. 

After a few tries, Reed was successful, and with my shoulder still firmly in his grasp, he entered, taking me with him. I should have screamed. I should have fought him. I had no idea what he wanted to 'talk' to me about.

He flicked on the light and locked the door before finally releasing me. I stumbled backward, eventually onto a bed. I sat down. I looked around. There was a bed, a set of drawers, and a door that probably opened into an ensuite of some kind. It was perhaps some kind of guest room. Reed paced back and forth in front of me. He seemed calm, but at the same time, he seemed unsure. What was strange, was that he hadn't said anything. The only words he'd spoken were the ones he'd said when he'd grabbed my shoulder. 

"Why am I here? I asked meekly. His head swiveled towards me. His eyes narrow. 

"I know you ain't stupid." He sneered. His voice held a venomous tone that I couldn't quite place. I knew better than to argue with him. Not here. Not where it wouldn't be who was right that would determine the winner. I bit my lip and looked at the ground. 

"So are you still fucking my cousin?" He spat. 

"What? We haven't done that." I answered. I felt my heart rise in my chest as it beat harder. 

"You know what I mean. You're still with him though, right?" He asked. 

"Yes," I mumbled. He smiled, nodding his head slowly. He took a step toward me and I could smell the slight hint of alcohol on his breath. 

"Disgusting." I seethed, crouching down so he was at my eye level. "I seriously can't believe you. So much potential. Wasted." 

I shifted my gaze away from him once more. 

"You know." He said, smiling again. "You're a lucky little faggot. Real lucky. If we didn't need you to win football games..." 

He trailed off, shaking his head. His words struck me as strange. Contradictory. On one hand, he recognized my place in the team, and the likelihood of us getting anywhere without a quarterback, but on the other hand, he still saw me as a caricature of every homophobic prejudice one could think of. Weak. Girly. Unfit for football. A follower.

"Just you wait though." He sneered. "The moment this season is over, you better watch your back. You and that waste of oxygen that I'm somehow related to. And don't even think of running to your brother like the little bitch you are. You know he's being looked at by several universities who might offer him a chance to play football. You also know he'd drop them in a second if it meant protecting you. You wouldn't want to be the reason he missed out. It would live on your mind forever. Forever. You. The one who cost his brother, the brother who for years moved heaven and earth for you, a chance on the big stage."

I shuddered. With every word that he spoke, I felt guiltier and guiltier. He was right about Parker and his selflessness. It was something I'd already thought about, but not something I'd considered likely to happen. 

The terrifying thing about this all was that Reed would be around next year. There'd be no Parker. No Owen. No Jasper. The three seniors who without question, had my back. Reed would be there, as would all of his followers. Reed stood back up. He towered over me, his shadow falling over me.